The classic India Pale Ale is a traveler’s beer, aggressively hopped to withstand the long, hot ocean voyage to the British East Indies. Our Double-Wide I.P.A. also travels well, and is right at home in the most exotic ports of call of the Midwest. While this modern-day prairie schooner may not resemble a graceful sailing sloop, our liberal hopping regimen does make her virtually “twister-proof,” with toffee and caramel notes balancing out the lingering bitterness. Enjoy this beer fresh to best appreciate the complex blending of hop aromas, ranging from minty to citrusy, with subtle hints of pine.

Reviews by adamdd:

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Picked up a four pack on Saturday for the big Michigan victory.Poured into a nonic a deeply hazed deep orange infused copper color with a huge blooming head that over filled the glass even with a pretty gentle pour.Aromas were deeply fruity and resiny with sweet alcohol.and caramel looming large as well.I found the flavors to pretty sweet with a lot of suary notes,the hops were there lending tropical fruit and pine resin notes but this is another sweet ladened DIPA.It's not bad and is alot like others of the style but it just gets to sweet and sticky after awhile....in my opinion.

I picked this up on a trip to St. Louis a few weeks ago and it's the first Boulevard offering that I've tried. 750 ml bottle with a Batch number of 0-9310 and a freshness(?) date of 11/10.

A: Went with a medium-hard pour into an oversize wine glass on this one, which I immediately found out was a mistake. It had a massive, 5 or 6 finger head that retreated slowly and left clumpy, big bubbles of froth behind on the glass. The color is a copper-amber, which is not really what I was expecting from this IPA. It actually looks a little more like a quad than an IPA.

S: When first I popped the cork, the aroma was a pretty intense citrus-hop profile, but that faded quickly and left behind more of a grassy and floral hop smell. The strength of the aroma also faded considerably as the beer warmed a bit. It was quite large at first whiff. There are some good orange and grapefruit characteristics hiding behind the grassy notes. It is a pleasant smell.

T: The taste essentially represents the smell, but is not as big as the aroma suggests it might be. It lacks a quality that I really look for in an IPA, which is that lingering grapefruit-ty bitterness that really jumps on the back of the palate. However, it does have a pleasant, bittersweet hop/malt combination that makes it a good sipper.

M: Perhaps a little thin for an IPA with this high of an a.b.v. I would expect a little more malt balance to give it a heftier mouthfeel, but it isn't there. I'd say it's a little above average

D: This is pleasant to drink. I split the big bottle with my girlfriend and didn't find it at all hard to rip through. I found this to be a good, enjoyable IPA, but not an elite one.

Poured a hazy darker orange bordering on ruby. A 2 finger bone head recedes to a small layer of tiny bubbles on the surface. It is much more ruby than other IPA's and I think its looks great in the glass

It smells of a non discriminant hop. To me it is neither floral or grassy or citrusy. It isn't really punch you in the face as I expected but I suspect this bottle has some age.

The taste has this ridiculously smooth bitterness with an accompanying malt sweetness. It ends with just a small taste of citrus hops on the back. Enjoyable and really balanced for the gravity but it shows the age.

It is very smooth for an IPA in the mouthfeel and drinks quickly as it is so balanced.

I truly believe this bottle is past its prime. I acquired two bottles in September and drank one then and forgot about this one until now. I recall it being way more hoppy in the nose and not it is rather nondescript. I actually enjoyed this beer very much because it is so balanced and smooth but I can tell it is not what it should have been. I reviewed to style and while my personal feeling of this beer is higher than the ratings I want to give an honest to style rating. If I am interpreting the date code right this was brewed in mid-May. so it is 7.5 months old. My bottle that was 4 months old I recall being much better. I want to review this beer with a fresh bottle.

This one was donated to the cause by my good friend bjones10. Thanks Brian. There's a lot of hop action in this. Brewer says that they use Zeus & Magnum for bittering and aroma. Ahtanum for aroma and Ahtanum, Centennial and Chinook for dry hopping. That's a lot of hops for a 750ml bottle! I pulled the cork out with my teeth - made me feel like a man. This is batch D8144 - here goes...

S: Fresh grass, slight grapefruit but there is definitely a sweeter apricot type smell there too. Very bold but the sweetness rounds off the overt sharpness you can sometimes get from big hops.

T: Wow. I didn't expect this to be balanced (as much as an IPA can be balanced). The caramel malt is an exceptionally strong back bone and the bold hops sit right on top of it. No real conflicts, it works pretty well. The overall taste is a nice bready maltiness with citrus. The hop aggressiveness is there on the palette throughout and gives a nice crisp finish. Plenty going on in this brew.

M: It is crisp and light but the malty roundness of the taste makes it feel more medium bodied. Medium carbonation that is soft on the tongue but gives it plenty of life - just right.

D: This is a great beer. Pretty strong IPA. I drank the first pint quickly but then I slowed down. I think the strong citrus and sweet malt was a bit much after a while. Having said that, I would be happy to have this beer often if I could get my hands on it. Makes me want to try more Boulevard.

Part of Boulevard Brewing Co.'s Smokestack Series. The head retention is nothing less than what we expected from this style, lots of sticky action on the glass. Mild, chill haze and tawny in color. Clean pungent oily hop aroma of mint, citrus and evergreen. Sure, there is a splash of malt in the nose, but the hops dominate. Hearty medium body with a smooth carbonation that flows very well. Bitterness is there but nothing drastically sharp, seems the focus is more on flavor. Oily and a little pungent, the hops bring forth layers of complex flavors; earth, herbal, mint, citrus, pine and tobacco. Alcohol warms the mouth a bit with tones of ripe pear, plum and a very faint white pepper backing. Almost forgot the malt because the hops are so flavorful--bready with a biscuity tone seem to be the base. The finish is semi-dry.

Very drinkable, but you'll still want to sip this one. We really love and appreciate the angle of more flavors versus trying to kill the palate with raw bitterness. Delicious.

Poured aggressively into my nonic. Bad mistake. Generous head quickly overpowers the pint glass and I have to wait to finish the pour.Dark brown/red cloudy appearance. Nice bronzy head retention. Smells nicely tart.Taste, pine and citrus. Nothing overpowering but somewhat lacking in malt balance also.Overall though, a good beer. I enjoyed it a lot and will definitely have another.

A - First off, I love the design of the labels and bottles of the Smokestack Series. Pours a slightly hazy deep copper with at least three fingers of dense tan head. Head has great retention and leaves a lot of lacing.

S - Quite floral, with a nice amount of citrus and noticeable caramel malt. Also a very faint bubblegum aroma.

T - Taste is also has a floral presence, but also an assertive bitterness and pungency of hops up front, mainly grapefruit zest and some citrus pulp, with a small grass presence as well. There is a decent amount of malt as well, but it is rather hidden behind the bitterness.

M - Medium, resinous mouthfeel with long lasting bitterness.

O - This is a solid, if not spectacular, DIPA. I would definitely have it again, but wouldn't go out of my way for it.